Nokia created the Eseries devices to appeal to the enterprise/business user and has both QWERTY and standard phone form factor devices. The QWERTY devices have evolved from the chunky and wide E61 to the slimmer E61i and now to the even slimmer Nokia E71. The E71 is almost exactly the same size as the iPhone with a focus on messaging and creation, rather than media consumption. It is an extremely classy, well constructed, and beautiful device that may appeal to those outside the enterprise market.
The packaging is solid and quite small.
There sits the E71 right under the first flap of the packaging. The E71 is wrapped in a plastic bag and surrounded by cardboard.
The E71 comes with a foreign A/C adapter and a 1500 mAh battery, the BP-4L.
The Nokia stereo headset has a standard 2.5mm headset jack to insert into the Nokia E71.
The battery on the E71 is huge with a capacity of 1500 mAh that should help give you long life with the device.
This battery can also be found in the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet and E61i so you should be able to easily find spare batteries if you need more capacity.
It is pretty rare for Nokia to include a carrying case and the E71 comes with a basic slip case to protect the device. A USB to microUSB cable is also provided.
The packaging includes a Quick Start Guide, full owner’s manual, accessories brochure, and a CD.
The case has a leather feel to it with a red lining to protect the device from scratches.
The E71 slides into the top right open area of the case. While it protects it in your bag, it isn’t kept secured in the case and is not designed as a belt or carrying case.
The back of the E71 is primarily stainless steel. The battery cover takes up most of the back and is textured for styling too.
You can see the perforations on the back that do not go all the way through the steel back. It looks cool and feels good too.
The Eseries branding is etched into the stainless steel back of the device.
The camera has a flash and a self-portrait mirror located above the battery cover. You actually need to press the T key on the keyboard to activate the auto-focus.
The E71 feels great in your hand and is rock solid and slim.
The E71 fits quite well in your hand and is slim enough to fit in a shirt pocket too.
Yes, that is an infrared port on the upper left side of the E71. A microSDHC slot and microUSB port can be found a bit lower and both have rubber covers over the openings.
There are buttons on both the bottom part of the right and left side that need to be pushed in to remove the back battery cover.
A red power button and the phone speaker are found along the top of the device.
The 2.5mm headset jack is along the top with the volume up and down buttons below that. Between the volume buttons is the Voice key.
There is a lanyard loop next to the standard Nokia charging port on the E71.
The battery release is on the bottom right side of the device, just like on the left side.
The QWERTY keyboard is more compact on the E71 than the E61i, but it is still highly functional and useful.
A clearer shot of the keyboard shows the solid construction.
The numbers are clearly identified in the center of the keyboard.
The left select key, send/call button, Home, and Calendar buttons are on the left side of the Nav button.
The right select key, end button, Contacts, and Email button are found on the right side of the Nav key/directional pad.
The keyboard is laid out well with a minimal amount of alternate characters.
The left side contains the shift and Fn buttons. Note the large space bar too.
The Nokia E71 branding and phone speaker are located above the display.
The back cover is thin steel that is removed by pressing in on two release buttons. You will find the SIM card slot and battery compartment under the back cover.
The iPAQ 910, Blackjack II, Nokia E71, and T-Mobile Dash side-by-side. All four have integrated QWERTY keyboards on the front with the E71 being the most compact.
Here you can see the same four devices stacked to compare thickness and size.
Another shot of the stack.
This view shows the bottom of the 4 devices.
Final stack shows the right side of the devices.
My current favorite S60 device next to what I think will be my new favorite.
The Nokia E71 is almost exactly the same size as the Apple iPhone with two different audiences.
The white backlight of the keyboard is a bit dim, but then again it doesn’t detract from the display.
Thumbnail 1
Image thumbnail 2
